 Land of Enchantment, Take Two
UC Santa Barbara will make its second trip of the 2010 season to Albuquerque, New Mexico this week to play in the Lobo Classic hosted by the University of New Mexico. The Gauchos are slated to play No. 12 Harvard on Friday in the second meeting between the two programs and will take-on Buffalo for the first time on Sunday.

 Uncharted Territory
After losing to Creighton and tying Davidson last week in home matches, UCSB has fallen to 0-2-2 on the early season. This marks the Gauchos' slowest start since head coach Tim Vom Steeg took over the program in 1999. The last time UCSB failed to win in its first four matches was during the 1998 season when the Gauchos went 0-8-0 to start the year and the last time UCSB was winless in four consecutive contests was during the 2008 season when the Gauchos went 0-3-3 in their final six games of the year (Nov. 1 thru Nov. 25).

 Down And Out In Santa Barbara
After being selected as a consensus preseason top-10 team in all five national college soccer polls, the Gauchos have slipped out of the top-30 in each poll. The last time UCSB slipped out of the national polls was during the 2006 season when the team was absent from every national poll for three weeks in mid-October. The Gauchos went on to turn that season around and won the national championship. UCSB is still ranked 44th in the Top Drawer Soccer poll and is receiving votes in the NSCAA poll and Soccer Times polls.

 Working Overtime
Three of the Gauchos' four games this season have gone into overtime - with two going into double OT - and UCSB has gone 0-1-2 in those contests. Vom Steeg's teams have posted a 17-7-22 combined mark in overtime games and average four per season. In 2009, UCSB played four overtime games, going 1-0-3 in those games. The most overtime games a Vom Steeg-led team has played in a season was eight during the 2004 campaign.

 Doubling Up
After being limited to just one goal in their first three games this season, the Gauchos' offense came alive on Friday as UCSB scored two goals in the first half against Davidson. The pair of goals were the most scored by the Gauchos since their 2-0 win at UC Davis on Nov. 7, 2009, a span of eight games.

 Playing Catch-Up
Until Friday's match against the Wildcats, UCSB had yet to lead a game in 2010 and even during that contest, the Gauchos found themselves playing catch-up. With the exception of the season-opener at Bakersfield, UCSB has fallen behind in the first half of each of its contests and twice in the first 15 minutes (against New Mexico and Davidson).

 Pair of Gauchos Ranked As Top-100Sam Garza and Danny Barrera have been named to Top Drawer Soccer's list of National Top 100 Men that was released on Sept. 15. The ranking includes the highest rated upperclassmen college soccer players in the nation and will be updated weekly. Garza is ranked 43rd while Barrera is 57th.

 Taking Shots
Despite being outscored 5-3 in the last four contests, the Gauchos have out-shot their opposition 56-39 and are averaging 14 shots per game, just above their average of 13 per game in 2009. UCSB is third in the Big West - behind UC Irvine and Cal Poly - for shots per contest and sophomore Sam Garza leads all players with his 18 shots and 4.50 per game average. Junior Danny Barrera, meanwhile, is tied for fourth in the conference with his 11 shots and 2.75 per game average.

 Defensive Behavior
The Gaucho defense has been solid to start the season, posting a 1.11 goals against average, which currently ranks second in the Big West and 75th nationally. People who followed the team closely in 2009 might be surprised that the Gauchos, who posted a school-record 16 shutouts last season, have already allowed five goals. It is notable, however, that the team allowed 11 of its opponents' 18 total goals in the first eight games of the 2009 season before going on to allow just one goal across 12 games from Sept. 27 thru Nov. 11.

 Garza's Goals
Sophomore Sam Garza has led UCSB offensively this season recording two of the Gauchos' three goals and an assist for a team-best five points. Garza scored his second goal of the season in the 18th minute against Davidson then assisted Michael Tetteh's goal in the 27th minute.

 Century Club
Senior goalkeeper Sam Hayden recorded his 100th save as a Gaucho in Friday's tie with Davidson. He is the first Gaucho goalkeeper since Kyle Reynish (2002-06) to tally triple digit saves. For his career, Hayden has posted a 0.80 goals against average and if he stays on-pace, he could top Reynish's school GAA record of 0.81. The Jackson, Wyo. native already ranks 10th in the UCSB record book for minutes played in a career (2,593) and is tied fifth for career shutouts (16).

 Seeing Crimson
UCSB will face Harvard, which is ranked No. 12 nationally by Soccer Times, for the first time since the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in double overtime during the programs' first meeting on Sept. 23, 2007. The Crimson defeated Stanford and UMass before tying UConn, 1-1, last week to get out to a 2-0-1 start on the year. Brian Rogers leads the team with two goals.

 Bull Fighting
Sunday's match will mark the first pairing between Buffalo and UCSB. After dropping its first two games of the season to Penn State and Ohio State, the Bulls have since defeated Canisus and Robert Morris to improve to 2-2 on the year. Four different players have scored for the Bulls this year.

 The Vom Steeg File
In his 12th year leading the Gauchos, head coach Tim Vom Steeg is the winningest coach in Big West history. Vom Steeg has posted a 157-63-24 record at the helm of UCSB and a 136-46-23 record since the program rejoined the Big West in 2001. Vom Steeg is also the winningest coach in UCSB men's soccer history and has turned the Gauchos into an annual national title contender. The 2004 and 2006 NSCAA National Coach of the Year, Vom Steeg guided the Gauchos to the NCAA title in 2006 and the championship game in 2004. He has guided UCSB to five Big West titles in the past eight years and eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. He won Big West Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2004 and 2005 and has produced 15 All-Americans.

 Coming Up
UCSB will return home after this weekend's Lobo Classic to host No. 10 UCLA on Sept. 24 at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium. The contest will be a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Third Round game between the Gauchos and Bruins, which UCLA won 2-1 subsequently ending UCSB's season.

 Golden Scarf Ceremony Set for Sept. 24
This year's "Golden Scarf" ceremony will take place prior to the Gauchos' Sept. 24 match against UCLA. This year, four individuals will be awarded a Golden Scarf for their dedication, passion and commitment to UCSB, the sport of soccer and/or the community. Nominations are now being taken online for this year's honor and each person who submits a nomination will receive a pair of free tickets to a Big West Conference home soccer match of their choosing. To nominate someone that you feel is worthy of recognition, click here.

 The Cup is Coming, The Cup is Coming!
UCSB is the proud host of the 2010 NCAA Men's College Cup which will take place Dec. 10 and 12 at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium. This marks the first time since the 2004 season that the Cup has been held on the West Coast. All-Session passes for the College Cup are currently available for purchase as a part of the 2010 soccer season ticket packages. Individual College Cup passes will be made available for purchase this Wednesday, Sept. 1.

If you would like to purchase your tickets for the 2010 soccer season, or for more information, please call (805) 893-UCSB, visit the Ticket Office located inside the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus or buy online by clicking here.